RBS shortlists for Project Achill Final Round
Royal Bank of Scotland has selected a shortlist of three private equity funds and one investment bank – Lone Star, Cerberus Capital Management, Oaktree Capital Management and Deutsche Bank – to progress to the second and final round for the nominally-valued €1.2bn Project Achill portfolio, following first round bids which were submitted on 1 August. The four finalists are understood to have bid for the majority of Project Achill, which comprised 31 separate borrower connections over six subpools originally extended to Ulster Bank, an RBS subsidiary.
The underlying properties within Project Achill include:
- Belfast’s upmarket The ARC Apartments with 207 units at Titanic Quarter and the 130,569 sq.ft Gateway Offices, which is 90% leased to Citigroup to June 2024
- A loan secured by the Forge Shopping Centre in Glasgow; the Ards Shopping Centre in Newtownards, 10 miles east of Belfast; Waterfront Plaza in Belfast, anchored by PwC and Mallusk Industrial Estate in Newtonabbey
- A suburban Dublin office and retail portfolio over 118,669 sq.ft, including 1-5 Leopardstown Retail Park and Unit 33 Sandyford Office Park
- The IBIS & Novotel Hotels in Friar Street, Reading
- A Primark retail store at 62-74 Burleigh Street in Cambridge
- Russell & Bromley’s store in Princes Street, Edinburgh
- Independent House, Talbot Street in Dublin (which is home to the Irish Independent)
- Exchange House in Belfast
- Blackrock Business Park in Blackrock, Ireland
- 16 completed residential units in Skerries and Malahide; a 128-acre land site with planning permission in Kinsealy, Skerries and Bettytown; 25 Merrion Square, an office block in Dublin; and 15 houses in Barnageeragh
- A 16-strong mixed-use portfolio comprising residential, retail and office assets in Cork over 218,079 sq.ft, with a 74.5% occupancy
It is understood that second round biding bids on Project Achill, which is being sold by Eastdil Secured on behalf of RBS, have been called for Friday 19 September.
